Reaffirming its continued commitment to and focus on Make in India, Lockheed Martin announced the culmination of the 7th edition of its annual Suppliers Conference. The event was co-hosted with Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). Themed ‘Making India part of the Global Supply Chain’, the five-day conference witnessed more than 400 delegates. More than 200 companies of all sizes — large, MSMEs and start-ups — participated in the conference. About 62 companies joined the conference as exhibitors and used the virtual exhibition area of the ‘CII HIVE’ platform to showcase their company.
V.L. Kantha Rao, Additional Secretary, Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence and Brigadier General Brian R. Bruckbauer, Director, Air Force Security Assistance and Cooperation Directorate, United States Air Force was Lockheed Martin’s chief guest and guest of honour respectively at the inaugural session of the conference. Mr. Rakesh Sasibhushan, Chairman, CII National Committee on Space delivered the special address to the delegates along with Lockheed Marin and SIDM leadership.
William L. Blair, Vice President and Chief Executive, Lockheed Martin India, said: “The annual Suppliers Conference is testimony to Lockheed Martin’s longstanding commitment to partnering with the Indian industry. Like previous editions, this year too, we saw an encouraging response from our supply chain network, MSMEs and the industry at-large with participation from more than 400 delegates, 200 companies and 62 exhibitors. Aligned with fulfilling the Prime Minister’s vision of self-reliance, we continue to build on the foundation and support the growth of an indigenous defence manufacturing ecosystem, advancing the aerospace and start-up ecosystem, and strengthening India’s strategic security and industrial capabilities.”
During the conference, Lockheed Martin shared new partnership opportunities with the Indian industry on its business areas including Aeronautics, Rotary and Mission Systems (RMS), Missiles and Fire Control (MFC) and Space. A highlight from the company’s RMS group is future work with MH-60R for India. There is an offset requirement for the program, and so as part of that, Lockheed Martin will put more indirect work over in India. The RMS team will work with capable Indian companies over the next 7-8 years and provide opportunities to the industry to integrate into the global supply chain. RMS’ Supply Chain team already works with several industrial partners in India and plans to expand that list, strengthening its commitment to the country. Richard A. Smith, Vice President, Global Supply Chain Management, Lockheed Martin Space, said: “The Space Day of the conference witnessed more than 110 participants. The space supply chain management team sees potential to engage with more than seven suppliers through the virtual meeting rooms of the CII HIVE platform in the coming weeks to expand supplier footprint even further in India.”
“Lockheed Martin’s Missiles and Fire Control division met with several new suppliers in India during the conference to better understand their manufacturing capabilities. Our suppliers in India continue to deliver quality products and services on time, and we look forward to expanding our supply base there”, shared Brian Kubik, Vice President, Global Supply Chain, Missiles and Fire Control. The event reiterated Lockheed Martin’s resolve to develop the capabilities of suppliers and to give them access to the global supply chain to manufacture in India, from India, for India and the world.